Ann Kenney (1879 - 1953)

Ancestors

• British Suffragettes

Biography

Annie Kenney was an English working-class suffragette who became a leading figure in the Women's Social and Political Union. She attracted the attention of the press and the public in 1905, when she was imprisoned for several days for assault and obstruction, after heckling Sir Edward Grey at a Liberal rally in Manchester. This incident is credited with inaugurating a new phase in the struggle for women's suffrage in the UK, with the adoption of militant tactics.

Annie Kenney

Ann "Annie" Kenney, 4th born daughter, 5th child, of Horatio Nelson Kenney and Ann Wood, was born on September 13, 1879 at Springhead (Saddleworth RD), in Yorkshire, England.[1] By the age of 10 Annie had started part time work as a cotton-mill operative. At 13 she worked full time, doing 12 hour shifts.[2] Of her six surviving sisters (the youngest, Clara, had not lived even one year): Sarah, known as "Nell", was also an active suffragette, Jessie a political activist, becoming involved in the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and, later, secretary to Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, Jane, known as "Jennie", a British suffragette (WSPU) and, later, a Montessori teacher, and Caroline, known as "Kitty", a suffragette who helped to run a recovery centre for suffragettes in Kensington, and was also a Montessori teacher. Annie join the Women's Social and Political Union in 1905 after hearing Emmiline Pankhurst and her daughters addressing a meeting in Manchester. Annie had been extremely impressed with the content of Christabel Pankhurst's speech and the two women soon became close friends. On October 13, 1905 Annie accompanied Christabel Pankhurst to an election meeting in the Manchester Free Trade Hall. The pair heckled the speaker, Sir Edward Grey and were evicted from the building. Once outside they conducted an impromptu meeting in the street. They were arrested and imprisoned, Annie for three days, and Christabel for seven. Thereafter Annie Kenney was a leading figure in the Women's Social and Political Union. That was the first of 13 times that Annie Kenney was sent to prison. [3]

In 1907 Annie was appointed WSPU organiser for the West of England based in Bristol. She was soon recruiting new members to the WSPU and gave very inspiring speeches. When Christabel Pankhurst fled to France to avoid arrest in 1912, Annie was put in charge of the WSPU in London.^[4]

In April 1913 Annie was on trial, at the Old Bailey, for incitement to riot and was sentenced to 18 months in Maidstone Prison. Annie immediately went on hunger strike and became the first Suffragette to be released from prison under the provisions of the Cat and Mouse Act.

The outbreak of war in 1914 brought a stop to the WSPU militant campaign. Over the next couple of years Annie was sent first to America and then to Australia. On her return she worked with David Lloyd George to help find female recruits for the munition factories.^[5]

After the passing of the Qualification of Women Act in 1918, Annie helped Christabel Pankhurst in her election campaign in Smethwick. Unfortunately Christabel lost to a representative of the Labour party.

Annie married, in 1920, James Taylor and went on to have a son, Warwick. She lost all interest in politics but remained friends with Christabel Pankhurst. In her autobiography^[4] Annie wrote:

There is a cord between Christabel and me that nothing can break - the cord of love... We started militancy side by side and we stood together until victory was won.

Annie died on July 9, 1953 at Lister Hospital in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. Her husband claimed that she never really recovered from all the hunger strikes. Annie died from Diabetes.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ "England and Wales, Birth Registration Index, 1837-1920", index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/2XF5-TT1 : accessed 03 May 2014), Ann Kenney, 1879.
2. ↑ "Annie Kenney." Robshistory. N.p., n.d. Web. (http://www.robshistory.co.uk/Annie-Kenney.php accessed on 4 May 2014).
3. ↑ Herbert, Michael. "Free Trade Hall Meeting 13 October 1905: the beginning of the militant campaign for Votes for Women." Manchesters Radical History. N.p., 14 Mar. 2010. Web.. (http://radicalmanchester.wordpress.com accessed 4 May 2014).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Kenney, Annie. Memories of a militant,. London: E. Arnold & Co., 1924.
5. ↑ Simkin, John. "Annie Kenney." Spartacus Educational. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/ (accessed May 4, 2014).
6. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Annie Kenney," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Annie_Kenney&oldid=591747425 (accessed May 4, 2014). (Please note that this link, and the information on the page, has been replaced by an updated version (as found under the sources, with the WikiData item.)

See also:

• Wikipedia: Annie Kenney
• Wikidata: Item Q3618091